Frozen Fire
by Shade Penn
Summary: While fire and ice may clash, fun and cheer go hand in hand with each other. Jack/Kushina told in a collection of one-shots. Crack Pairing with a serious edge.
1. When She Smiles

The first thing he'd noticed about her was the smile on her face. Though the air was hot and sweltering, he'd still wanted to see it once more before he left.

He'd been doing his usual treks around the world now that winter was over when he came across this place, which had a strange Mount Rushmore monument overhead that was looking over the place.

Still, Jack hadn't let the heat get to him, he could at least stand it until he needed to leave; but when he heard the sounds of children laughing, he couldn't help but go see what they were doing. He landed in a tree to keep cool under the shade as he watched several children playing in front of a building with a ball, but even if he couldn't understand the language they were shouting at each other, he still understood that they were having fun.

_"Are you guys having fun?"_

Jack blinked at the sound of someone new having shown up and looked down to see the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen come walking out of the building the kids were playing in front of. She smiled at them, and the bright, intense cheeriness behind it was what really left him stunned. She just looked so happy, and the smile seemed to be infectious as the children all beamed back at her.

"_Hai, Kushina-san!_" They chimed and one of them offered the ball up and the redhead took it graciously.

"_Catch!_" The woman shouted and tossed the ball into the air, and when it came back down, one of the children caught it and started tossing the ball at one of the others, though from the way when the ball connected, Jack could guess they were playing a game of ball tag.

Although tempted to join in and add his own touch, Jack stayed in the shade and watched them play, though his eyes kept wandering to the smile on the redhead's face.

* * *

Even though he'd only meant to be passing through, he still stuck around, sticking to the shade to stay out of the sun to at least help with temperature control. But he was condensing, and soon he'd probably be nothing more than a puddle-well, may not a _puddle_, but he still be pretty uncomfortable-so before he left, he wanted to see _her_ again.

Jack didn't know her name, as he didn't understand the language, so he decided to just call her the Redhead since he found no one else in the whole village with such vividly red hair that stood out or was as long. Serious, it was _knee-length_. He might have been young, but he wasn't stupid; so despite the killer smile, he left the Redhead alone because he didn't want to considered a stalker, even in his own head.

But since he was leaving, he reasoned that seeing that smile one more time wouldn't be hurting anybody. He rode the wind threw the village trying to look for her, but it was surprisingly hard to find one redhead in a place where there weren't any others. Oh, he'd seen some pretty strange hair colors and styles alright, but just not the one he was looking for.

But when he eventually _did_ find her; she was sitting in a shop with a dark-haired woman with a child sitting beside her. He frustratingly still couldn't understand them, but once he saw that smile come out after the dark-haired woman spoke, it melted his frustration away.

If it wasn't undeniably creepy, he thought he could watch her for hours. But it was, and he was so not a creeper.

Just as he was about to leave, Jack peered back once more to let the memory be imprinted in his mind, because even if he forgot the face, he hoped that smile remained. It was probably the happiest one he'd ever seen on an adult-looking person. He knew they were probably happy, but they were never happy when _he_ was around, not like the kids.

"_So Kushina-chan, do you and Minato know what you want to name the baby?_" The dark-haired woman questioned.

The Redhead laughed. "_It's still too early to tell, Mikoto!_"

Yes, even if he never saw her again, he hoped he could remember that smile.

* * *

_50 years later_

Jack laughed as he flew through the air, feeling like he was on top of the world while he spread the snow through the northern states of America. He felt power coursing through him as the children's belief powered him as the Guardian of Fun. It felt great to be finally acknowledged and believed in, though his real joy was always going to be bringing fun to the kids with his snow days.

He paused as he landed on a tree branch and thought over the idea in his head and grinned; yeah, it _did_ sound like there could always be more snow days. He jumped off the branch, but a sudden flash of red on the Mount Rushmore structure caught his attention. He floated up to the mountain and landed, cautiously walking over to the figure sitting on one of the heads and looking over the forest.

He felt something stirring in his mind as he stared at the face staring blankly out at the forest, but there was something out of place as he stared at her too pale face. "Hello?" he asked but thought maybe she was a human and couldn't hear him, but to his surprise, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, but didn't do more than that.

As he stared into the sole blue-violet eye he could see, it clicked in Jack's mind from where he recognized this woman from. '_That village_.' He thought and he imagined the same face with the bright, intense smile, and that was what he found was out of place.

There was no cheerful smile anymore; the face was set in a frown.

Well, she did hear him, so maybe she could understand him? "Uh, what's your name?"

The Redhead stared at him; her brow furrowing and Jack deflated before he smiled at her and held out her hand encouragingly. There seemed to be some recognition and he assumed that she must have seen someone shaking hands or she did this herself. She was tentative with grasping his hand, and Jack suddenly felt colder than he was when it caught up with him that she _could see and touch him now_.

This woman was like him; he thought and felt the pulse in her wrist.

But in the Redhead's eyes there was a change, a wonder and astonishment as she grasped his hand and pulled it forward to feel the pulse as she placed her hand to his chest and the pulse underneath.

_"I can feel you!"_ she said and though he still couldn't understand her, Jack saw the memory he had of her overlapping with the one in his mind.

She was smiling at him, and it was beautiful.


	2. How He Moves

When Kushina had first awoken, she'd been scared. She was covered in blood, but when she stared at the moon high above her, she had calmed down and listened to hear something like a whisper in her ear and with it came a name.

_Kushina_.

Kushina had waited for more, but when it had been apparent nothing _was_ going to come, she turned and tried to find someone else to talk to, but the biggest shock had been when she was walked right through by the people in the village she was near. She'd been so distraught by it that she turned and ran from the place without even trying to find some replacement clothing.

Eventually though, Kushina had found she could still touch things, just not people, and found a dress she could change into. And she'd sat on the sidelines just watching things past her by, drifting from place to place, and seeing people interact without ever being able to interact with them herself started to take its toll on her psyche.

So when she had drifted a mountain that had faces carved into it, she felt something stir in her and found familiarity, no matter how vague it was, and she had sat on top of it, over-looking the forest down below and could appreciate the beauty she was seeing. In her mind she felt herself shut down and never moved from her perch, because what was the point?

There she sat, and time eventually lost its weight so she didn't keep track of it.

But when someone _had_ showed up, and talked to her, and _touched_ her, she felt herself coming alive gradually. She'd been so excited to find someone she could interact with that it didn't matter that she couldn't understand him nor could she speak with him, but they still had gestures and those were enough to get across her wanting to go with him.

It was an arduous thing to do, but she was excited for the first time in a long time, and the happier she felt, the more _right_ she felt with who she was.

But the thing about this young man that caught her attention was how he could move through the air. She was stuck with walking everywhere, but instead of being boring, he made it seem fun, with how he looped and he seemed to like when she smiled. So whenever he did something particularly amazing, she would smile for him.

The snow he brought though got Kushina to smile a lot, but her eyes never strayed from the young man as she watched him weave through the air and make the ice slippery or when they came across kids, partake in snow ball fights with them.

During one of these times, he'd even offered her one ball, and though nervous about being hit in the face, she only hesitated before she got the snowball splattered across her face. She glared at him before a light feeling had come over her and she giggled and scooped up the snow at her feet and threw it at him, missing only because he took to the air and instead hit one of the kids.

_"How come I've never done this before?"_ she asked herself as she scooped up more snow and kept on trying to hit the man with one of the snowballs, even managing to hit him as he tossed them back at her.

She was having fun, so much fun that she didn't once wonder why the kids were able to see the man and not her. So much fun in face she could almost pretend that she was 'real,' that she was actually participating.

When one child ran through her, Kushina felt cold and all the fun she was having was the last thing on her mind. She looked around at the scene and decided this was the last place she wanted to be.

"Wait!" she could hear the man shout after her in that strange language and grab her shoulder, his touch feeling even chillier. "What's wrong?"

Kushina knew that he couldn't understand her, but seemed to be under the impression if he spoke to her it would _make_ her begin to understand him. She looked over at him, if only because the she could hear the concern in his voice and the worry in his eyes. And she wanted so much to be able to tell him what was wrong, but she had to settle for pointing at the children and then at herself.

Recognition flooded those blue eyes and she wondered if maybe he _did_ know what she was trying to get across. He looked thoughtful before glancing back at the kids. His expression shifted to determination as he grabbed her hand and started to pull her back towards the group who were all looking at him with some confusion.

Kushina winced as she knew they weren't even glancing at her and she wondered what the point of bringing her back over here would serve. She saw him smile at the kids before jumping up and his awkward movements showed her he was riding the wind now, but after the initial take off, Kushina found herself amazed by the movements he was making.

All sorts of loops and tricks, with or without the nearby objects to add some trajectory, and he smiled at all of them while the kids cheered him on and laughed.

It was hard to miss at first, but Kushina had found herself laughing along with the children, and even though they couldn't see her, she was still sharing this with them.

Now she realized what the man had been trying to do.

And as she watched him like she had done when they were alone and she was anxious, she let her anxiety fade away, because right now it had no place once cheer bloomed in her once more.

And this time it had nothing to do with the snow.


	3. I Am

Despite the language barrier, everything seemed to be going fine. That was, until it got frustrating to never know the name of the person you were with.

The gestures were one thing, as it conveyed actions where words weren't needed, but neither of them still knew the other's name. It seemed like they were cheating each other out of something and it wasn't fair to the other.

Their names.

So one day, Kushina took the initiative to gesture to herself and try to sound out her name, but the young man had merely stared at her in confusion. Her temper rose and she'd felt like storming off, but it would have been incredibly immature and she was better than that, so she hadn't. But that didn't mean her frustration had quailed, and while neither of them noticed it, they both began to spend more and more time apart.

Jack had noticed the time they both spent apart, but what he really missed was that smile, which seemed to have been replaced by a constant scowl like the Redhead was angry at him for something. He _had_ tried to make sense of what she'd been trying to tell him, but he couldn't figure out what she was saying.

He wanted to let her temper cool, but even angry at each other they couldn't stay away from the other; it wasn't like a co-dependence thing, it was more like a loneliness thing. He could still see it in his mind the Redhead sitting on the mountain and her face devoid of any emotion like she was a statue.

But he did think that even if they might not be able to communicate through words, then he could at least tell her his name so she had a name to call him than whatever she must have been calling him in her head, just like he was with the Redhead nickname.

When he was done with playing and laughing with the kids of the nearby town, he found the Redhead sitting on a log in the forest, eerily reminding him of their reunion. Or was it first meeting since she didn't know he had seen her previously?

"Hey!" he called because he honestly didn't know what else to call her.

The Redhead looked up and Jack smiled at her to show that he wasn't angry and to try and prevent her from getting angry at _him_. She didn't glare at him, so it was a good start. He sat down beside her and gestured to himself like he'd seen her do before. "Ja-ck."

The Redhead narrowed her eyes before tentatively repeating the sounds, though they came out different. "Jo-eck."

Jack shook his head and leaned in closer. "J…"

"J…"

"...a…"

"…a…"

"…ck…"

"…ck…"

Jack nodded, his expression brightening. "J-a-ck."

The Redhead's brow furrowed and she attempted to do the same. "Jo-ack?"

_'That was close, very close.'_ Jack thought excitedly. "J-ack."

"J-a-ck." The Redhead's eyes brightened when she saw him nod and repeated the word. "Jock…Jack..." The woman trailed off when Jack nodded at the second one and she grinned at her. "Jack!"

Jack whooped and threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He pulled back and his face went colder as he realized what he'd done, but the Redhead didn't look angry, she merely gestured to herself again like she did before and began to sound out syllables of her own name again. Jack had been frustrated the first time because the name sounded too long and complicated, but now that the woman took the time to understand his name, he could do the same.

And this time the lesson wouldn't end with either of them storming off angry at each other.

_"Ku-shi-na."_ The woman sounded out in her own language.

Jack bit his lip momentarily before giving it his own try. "Ku-si-ha?" he asked in confusion and the woman shook her head.

_"Ku…"_

"Ku…"

_"...shi…"_

"…shi…"

_"…na…"_

"...na..."

_"Kushina!"_ The woman said as her mood got even cheerier.

"Kuhina?" Jack relayed and the Redhead sighed and was starting to let look frustrated, but Jack didn't let that stop him like it did before when tempers rose.

They were _trying_ anyway.

"Ku-shi-na!" The Redhead said forcefully.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Ku-shi-na?"

The Redhead grinned at him and nodded. "Hai!"

"I don't know what you just said right now, but your name is," Jack gestured to the woman, "Kushina?"

Kushina nodded and gestured at him in return. "And you're Jack!"

Both their mutual feelings of accomplishment and joy were let out as they both grabbed a hold of each other and hugged, but unlike the tentative hand holding they did when they traveled, there was nothing shy about this gesture.


	4. Flying Through The Air

As Kushina watched Jack fly through the air, she wondered what it felt like. She couldn't ask him with words, but wondered if she could ask him with gestures. She sat on the sidelines as she watched Jack play with more kids from the next town over and smiled at them. She wanted to join in, but she needed to rest for a bit.

It was only when she sat down she realized how tired she seemed.

When she felt her strength return to her, Kushina got up from the bench and scoop up a snowball before throwing it at Jack, only missing his head as he ducked to avoid another ball thrown at him. She laughed and kept throwing them at him and the children, but even though the children didn't know she was even there, the snow still hit her and it at least can her the illusion.

The fun only ended when the sun started to go down and the children seemed to be bidding each other and Jack good bye.

Even though it was only for a moment, Kushina saw the loneliness flash across his face before she reached out her hand and grabbed it. He looked at her and smiled before tightening his hold on her hand.

They didn't know how long they were holding their hands, but neither of them were against it and they stayed connected while they watched the stars start to appear in the sky as the moon rose. When Kushina saw the moon, she wondered if she'd ever hear the voice from it again.

Looking down at their hands, Kushina had gotten used to the chill Jack emitted, but she reluctantly let go to gesture to the sky, waved her arms around as she twirled in place, her long hair flying around her and she pointed at him. Jack raised a brow in confusion before he mimicked her movement and pointed at the sky as well.

When Kushina nodded, Jack smiled and nodded.

Thinking he was just confirming what she thought, Kushina looked back at the sky, only to feel Jack grab a hold of her and she looked at him startled, but a smile was all she got before he yelled something and they both were taken into the air by the wind.

Kushina let out a scream as she closed her eyes tightly and she had a death grip on Jack's shoulders. She opened her eyes to glare at him, but he just looked innocently confused by this action.

"Was this what you wanted?" he asked.

Kushina furrowed her brow before she looked around them and noticed the houses and streetlights were gone. Gasping, she looked down to see that they were high in the air. Fear made her tighten her grip on Jack's hoodie, but soon excitement gave way once she realized she could be able to experience what Jack did herself.

He must have thought she wanted to fly too. Well, this misunderstanding she could let slide.

Kushina looked back at Jack and smiled at him, who smiled back at her before the wind blew them across the sky. The man's arms were around her waist securely as he flew horizontally and Kushina held out her arms like she was flying on her own and laughed at the exhilaration she was feeling. Her eyes met Jack's and she smiled again, only brighter than before.

Her face was starting to hurt, but she was having too good a time to care.

As they flew across the sky, Kushina gripped the arms around her and sighed in contentment as she realized Jack got to have this feeling every time he took to the sky. It was like being free. They flew over a forest, a lake, and a new town. When they reached the town, Jack started to fly closer to the ground.

Kushina pouted when they reached the ground, but Jack grabbed a hold of her hand again to gain her attention and he gestured to the moon before making an arc like he was simulating the rise and fall and she nodding understanding. _Tomorrow_, and Kushina couldn't wait.

They walked through the town, overlooking the places they could stay for the night, hand in hand.


	5. As I Take You In

Even after learning each other's names and now being able to share the joy he felt when he flew, Jack took the time to really look at Kushina. He still thought her smile was her best feature, but he she really was beautiful, though she wasn't as pale as he was and her blue-violet eyes stood out and drew attention to her face.

Her hair was also eye catching, as it _was_ the very thing that caught his attention this time around. If he hadn't seen it standing out he would have flown right past her on Rushmore. They were walking along a trail at the moment and he occasionally tapped the ground with his staff to ice it over, but his focus was soon drawn to that bright red hair.

It was even longer than the last time he saw it years again if that was possible, reaching almost to her ankles, but it didn't look like it bothered Kushina one bit. He wondered if she had to do anything to keep it so neat when he wasn't around and it never escaped his notice how it would fly around when the wind picked up.

"Kushina?" Jack asked and the redhead looked at him. He hesitated in reaching out to touch her shoulder, stopping them both before he grabbed a handful of Kushina's hair and pulled it into view and showed it to her.

She raised a brow before taking a hold of his hand and saw their mutual paleness before she smiled and raised her hand to Jack's hair and pinched between her fingers a lock of his bangs and pulled it down until he could see it too and then she let go before sliding her fingers through his hair. Jack went colder at the feeling and thought the gesture felt good.

He raised his own hand and ran it down Kushina's hair, scooping the rest up before his hand wandered too far and he got slapped in the face or punched for it. He wasn't stupid to think that just because they were doing this that she was going to let him go _that_ far and her hand was staying firmly on his head and playing with his hair.

Her second hand raised itself to his cheek and his own rose to her face, but even with the chilliness of his skin she didn't appear to mind the feeling. He thought she was pretty, but what did she think of him? He didn't know if this touching was innocent or just to appreciate each other, but he decided he didn't care though when Kushina ran her hand down his cheek to his neck and back up to the opposite cheek.

He liked this, he liked this _a lot_ and being an immortal teenager was just causing him to go through some rather strange feelings.

Kushina found Jack's touch to be pleasantly cool than the biting coldness she had felt when he touched her to get her attention the first few times, but figured she had just gotten used to him by now. She felt Jack petting her hair again and almost felt like purring in delight and wondered if he felt the same under her fingers.

She liked Jack, he was the first one she had actually met after waking up after all, and wondered if he liked her too. Well, he must have liked her or he wouldn't let her be doing this nor would he be participating.

The touching had to stop though, or it would lead to something Jack wasn't entirely sure he was ready for, so he reluctantly pulled his hand from her hair. He certainly didn't know if Kushina would be okay with it, so he wanted to wait until maybe they could finally learn to understand each other.

He left the hand on her face for a moment before pulling it away. "I don't know if you like me, but I like you."

Kushina blinked before running her thumb along Jack's cheek and smiled at him, and if only for a moment he could pretend she had understood him.

She pulled her hand away from his face, but the one in his hair slid down his shoulder to his hand and she grasped it in hers and squeezed it slightly before letting go and they continued with their walk along the trail.

Neither of them knew what the other was thinking, but they both knew they had liked what they had done.


	6. Close To You

If Kushina had to pick one thing to like about Jack, it would be his innate ability to always be so fun-loving and joyful. It kept her from going back to that depressing time she had endured for a while until he found her, and it was infectious. Though she thought his powers might have had something to do with that. They had grown a bit closer, with their petting that one time, but neither of them were willing to push it, and she was fine with this.

It was better to wait until they could understand each other after all.

But his fun-loving and rather mischievous nature wasn't the only thing she liked; she liked his ice power too, despite how cold it could get and she had to find some place warmer to stay sometimes. This was one of those times it was too cold for her to be out in the snow with him and had found a shelter in a warehouse that had blankets and curled up in them to keep warm.

Cold didn't affect her that much, but it was still enough to make her too much of a burden and that was the last thing she wanted to be. She wanted to be Jack's equal, and that meant being able to stand with him, but even he urged her to not push herself too much. He wasn't being condescending, she could see it in his eyes just how much he really did care for her, and she was touched.

Though aside from holding hands, _touching_ each other like they had before was still off the table.

Kushina roused from the blankets as a wind blew in and she saw Jack close the warehouse door behind him and smiled at her, one hand behind his back. She raised a brow at him as she noticed this and he grinned sheepishly before bringing out into view something that made Kushina's breath hitch. It was like a bouquet of flowers, only they were made entirely of snow, so loving crafted that she wondered why he made them.

He carefully set them down in front of her and she didn't dare do anything but admire them, though when he saw the questioning look in her eyes, Jack gripped the blanket Kushina was in and pulled it around her before shivering to show his point and nodded at the flowers before smiling at her sadly.

Kushina didn't _quite_ understand what he was trying to say, but she hoped he meant that these flowers were just to have a little bit of winter in the warehouse until she was ready to go back outside. But the fact he made them for _her_ to make her _feel_ better...

Deciding to test the waters, Kushina smiled at Jack and opened her arms. He stared at her like he didn't expect this before smiling back slowly and tentatively wrapped his arms around her just as she wrapped her arms around him. Because they flew together now, Kushina was used to close contact, but there was just something _more_ to this, not like the platonic way he held her when they flew through the air.

But whether it was because they were in a warm enough warehouse, or because Kushina just felt better after Jack made her the flowers, this hug felt _better_, and even his skin didn't feel so cold, though again that might just have been the fact she had spent the day warming herself up.

But even though the hug felt nice, they still had to separate, and while Kushina was blushing, Jack had a bluish tint to his cheeks again like when they had been touching each other previously.

Though they stopped hugging, neither of them was just ready to let the other go, so they both leaned against a box behind them and settling his staff haphazardly along his shoulder, Jack wrapped one arm around Kushina's blanket covered shoulder as he didn't want this to be moot for her to be warm. Wrapping her arm loosely in the blanket, Kushina wrapped her own arm around Jack's shoulder and pulled up his hood so she could lean her head against his and mindful of the staff, put her hand on his shoulder.

Jack peered at her from around his hoodie and thought she was smart for putting his hood up as at least their clothes acted as a kind of barrier from his chilliness and protected him from condensing from her warmth. This wasn't a good idea, to be so close to each other for a night, as even the other times they stayed in a shelter they still kept a distance, but they _weren't_ just getting physically closer, were they?

No, so he closed his eyes and let himself drift off as she closed her own eyes, and for the night neither of them were in any bit of discomfort.


	7. He Said, She Said

Jack hadn't realized how much time had passed, so when the yetis came, he knew something was going on. He didn't see a sack this time so he guessed he wasn't going to be thrown into one, but as he watched Kushina flip out and punch a yeti in the gut and see it double over to clutch it, he never knew she was so strong.

It seemed she _could_ do something after all. It wasn't as flashy as his powers, but it was still pretty cool.

He shivered when he thought about those hands having been playing with his hair and touching his face with such ease and then looking at the downed yeti. It was…a stark contrast to say the least.

Jack grabbed a hold of Kushina's shoulder as she moved for the second yeti and she looked back him. He made a gesture with both hands to show her that she needed to calm down. He pulled one of her hands into his and smiled at her reassuringly. Kushina's tight features unwound with uncertainty, but she looked willing to trust him at least.

Jack looked at the yetis. "What are you doing here?"

The gray one left standing answered with some garbled growling.

Jack didn't spend all that time with trying to sneak into North's workshop not to pick up what the yetis were saying. "What? You're kidding, right? It's Christmas already?" he asked and the yeti growled something again and Jack blinked. "Look, I'll go, but Kushina comes with me. Hold on a sec," he said before looking at Kushina and pointed between him and her. She raised a brow but nodded, "Great," he said and looked at the yeti, "she's my date then."

The yeti also seemed to be raising a brow, but grumbled something and raised the snow globe in his hand and said something in his yeti language and threw it into the air and a portal opened up and reached down to drag the other yeti through the portal.

Jack looked at Kushina, his eyes meeting hers and he tightened his grip on her hand before he smiled at her again as he nodded at the portal. She smiled back at him and nodded. They both ran at the portal and when they came out the other side they were in a room with a globe overlooking and a skylight in the roof and the other guardians were there as well.

"Jack Frost!" North said boisterously. "Dan says you brought date with you."

Jack went colder and raised his hand that was holding Kushina's and smiled at her. "Uh, yeah, this is Kushina." He said and Tooth flew up to Kushina to pry open her mouth. "Uh, Tooth, she doesn't speak English, so you might wanna be careful." He said and a tiny fairy came rushing up to him with a pout on her face. "Hey there Babytooth. Don't look so sad." He said reassuringly, but Babytooth still pouted at him before she cuddled up on his shoulder.

Tooth pulled her fingers back sheepishly. "Oh, silly me, but there in such good condition." She gushed.

Kushina stared at her. _"Who are you? And why were you poking around my mouth?_"

Tooth looked momentarily startled before she beamed at Kushina. "_You're teeth are in good condition, do you floss?_"

Now it was Jack's turn to look startled. "Wait, you can understand her?" he asked and Tooth nodded.

"She's speaking Japanese." She replied.

Jack slapped his forehead. "How could I have missed this?" he asked himself before looking over at the other Guardians, feeling excitement coursing through him. "I, uh, need to talk to Kushina and Tooth privately for a moment, so we're just gonna be outside." He said before pulling both of them with him and Babytooth had to hold on tight to keep from falling off his hoodie. He looked at Tooth, his eyes shining bright. "Can you ask her if she likes me?"

There was no beating around the bush now; it was time to find out once and for all.

Babytooth made a squeak in protest, but Tooth smiled at him sweetly. "Aw, you've got a crush on her?" she asked and Jack went colder before she looked at Kushina. "_Jack wants to know if you like him_."

Kushina felt something in her feel lighter, as if she could fly all on her own. "_Yes, I do like him_." She relayed and Tooth nodded.

Jack grinned and could barely hold himself back. "I like her too." He said and Tooth relayed the words to Kushina, making him wait with baited breath as her expression closed off for a moment before a radiant smile lit up her face, this one replacing the smile in his mind as the best, because he _knew_ now.

In a moment of joy, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, though he stopped just short of kissing her like he wanted to. He went even colder as he looked away and heard Babytooth squeaking again. He pulled back and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and Kushina rubbed her arm and blushed as well.

"Um, wow, this is embarrassing." Jack muttered as he realized that both Babytooth and Tooth were still there.

Tooth smiled at him. "Why? You two look so cute together, you're teeth are both amazing." She said and paused before checked the teeth in Jack's mouth and pulled back. "Yup, still beautiful."

Jack grinned and glanced at Kushina before holding his arm out to her. She raised a brow before smirking back at him and linked them together and widened upon seeing that she was taller than him, though this wasn't the first time they noticed it. He also knew that while they were still long from officially coming out with their feelings and letting them fester, it was still _there_ and they _knew_ now.

And now they could go and enjoy the Christmas party, though in Jack's opinion, 'like' had just became his favorite word.


	8. This Kiss

Neither of them were the type to get nervous over little things, but then again the feelings they had for each other weren't exactly 'little' and because of their feelings it caused a kind of rift between them; neither of them knowing for certain about just how _much_ the other liked them.

They didn't want to go into this half-heartedly; they cared about each other too much to cheapen things by prolonging it though. That's where the problem came from, and why it caused them to spend time apart. Jack occupied his time by spreading the snow and fun, while Kushina spent it inside and warm, both their thoughts always returning to the same thing.

_Was it time to try?_ The admittance was the first step, a kiss was the next.

Jack smirked as he skated around the ground in the snowball fight he initiated between Jamie and his friends, only this time they could see him and this made him a target too. He was caught off guard when he caught sight of Kushina standing on the sidelines and he was pelted with snowballs. He laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you guys win." He said before he turned his attention over to Kushina and though he could guess what she wanted to communicate with him, he thought since they were spending their time together that he should introduce Jamie and the other children to her to mend the rift.

He didn't like seeing her so sad when he played with the kids and she couldn't be seen by anyone like he had been. Being ignored for so long really hadn't been fun.

Jack held up a finger to simulate he'd talk to her in a minute while looked back down at the kids and smiled at them. "Jamie, can you look over there and tell me what you see?"

Jamie looked confused but did as he was asked. "Uh, I don't see anything. What's over there?"

Jack's smile faded before he brightened up and jumped onto his staff before he tilted his head playfully. "You really can't see her?" he asked trying to sound surprised. He could see by the interest in the faces of the children that he caught their attention by his choice of words by the way they were glancing over at the side where Kushina was. "She's always with me though."

"What's she look like?" Cupcake asked curiously.

Jack's smile widened. "She's tall, has really long red hair-"

"Like Rapunzel?" Pippa asked suddenly.

Jack paused and nodded absently. "Yeah, her hair goes down to her knees, she's pale as me; and my personal favorite would be her smile." His tone turned dreamy and none of the kids missed it.

Hearing the fondness in his voice, Jaime tried really hard to believe in what Jack was saying; that there was someone standing on the sides that could bring out that type of tone in Jack. He squinted as before his eyes a form started to appear; she looked just like Jack said she did. "I see her!" he said excitedly and Jack grinned.

The other children looked more closely at the sidelines and soon more exclamations followed as their belief in the presence of the woman strengthened and soon enough they were all staring at the tall redheaded lady. Jack jumped down from his staff and glided over to Kushina and held out his hand to her. She raised a brow before she smiled tentatively back and he could guess she was wondering about what he was doing.

This hadn't been the longest time they'd spent apart, but even then the need for companionship still held strong in both of them. Jack used the staff to gesture grandly at Kushina, who was looked surprised herself to see all the children looking up at her, not through her, but _at_ her. "Kids, this is Kushina."

Glancing at the two holding hands, Jamie's smile was friendly as it seemed the woman really did mean something to Jack and he held out his hand to her. "Hi."

Kushina smiled at the boy as she shook his hand with her free one, but she didn't say anything as she didn't know what was being said, but looked at Jack meaningfully to convey this.

The young man blinked and conked the staff on his head as he realized what was left out. "Right, uh, Kushina here doesn't understand English…very well."

"Then how can you two talk?" Pippa asked confused.

Jack smiled sheepishly. "We don't actually talk; we've both just gotten good at showing each other what we want. I'll admit it's tricky, and the only bit of language I could understand was her name and even that was difficult to learn at first."

Kushina knelt down before she scooped up a handful of snow and gently threw it up into the air and caught it before she tossed it at Jack and it got him in the chest, but he grinned at her and picked up a handful of snow himself.

"Snowball fight!"

* * *

When the impromptu second snowball fight was over, Jack and Kushina waved goodbye to the kids before they walked back to the shelter they were staying in when they were in this particular town. Kushina had a strong feeling that Jack like this place and didn't mind their trips coming back here. She glanced down at their joined hands and Kushina bit her lip for a moment as she thought about to go about this.

Jack blinked and gazed at Kushina as she tugged him back as they entered the warehouse and his expression was questioning. She let go of his hand briefly before she took the staff away and placed it against the wall and held both of his hands in hers as she stared into his eyes, having seen this sometimes in the televisions she had seen passing by people's houses.

Jack stared back into her eyes and he realized what this reminded him of and he couldn't stop the chuckle from slipping out. He stopped abruptly as the hurt and anger flashed in Kushina's eyes and she moved to turn away. He quickly placed one hand on the redhead's cheek to turn her face back and quickly mimed how the gesture was sappy but how Kushina was great.

This appeared to mollify Kushina as she placed one of her own hands on Jack's cheek as well. Things started to fall into place and the time seemed right, so Kushina started to lean in, Jack's eyes widening as she got closer and closer and his face had a bluish tint to his cheeks before the woman pressed her lips to his.

Jack brought his other hand up to wrap around Kushina's waist and Kushina's other arm slid around his shoulder as they pulled themselves closer to each other as their kiss deepened and only pulled back when they thought it must have gotten the point across and they were both blushing. Even though the sappy gesture before was rebuked, Kushina once more tried her hand at being romantic with leaning her forehead on Jack's and intertwined the hands on their faces and slowly Kushina smiled at Jack, who smiled back at her.

Time seemed to stand still as they just basked in the fact they hadn't scared the other off with this new development.


End file.
